Guest romeosrents Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I have been on GT for about a month now and it was suggested that I post an introduction. So...here goes. My name is Vicki and my husband is John. We live in northeastern Connecticut and love being active and outdoors. We have been fortunate enough to become the "parents" of Romeo, a darling, fawn boy who is ...well HUGE! He stands about 28" at the shoulder and weighs in at 85lbs! He has the most amazing big brown eyes that melt your heart (quite possibly the reason that he came home with us last July)! And a personality that is truly unique. Here is the story of how we came to be a family: Last June, my husband (not yet my husband then) and I were discussing getting a dog. We both really wanted a lab, but being that labs are quite expensive around here, we decided that was not going to happen. My husband's sister is a dog trainer and recommended a greyhound. I was definitely not convinced; they were big, super energetic (so I thought), and were kind of goofy looking. She kept insisting that they were great condo dogs and that all they needed were a few good walks a day and that then they sleep all the time. John (my husband) gave in and began to do some internet research. He found a lot of great information and little by little, he began to convince me that a greyhound would be good for us. After we decided that we wanted a greyhound, we began to search for adoption kennels. We found the Connecticut Greyhound Adoption agency and began looking at available hounds. We called the agency and were pre-screened for adoption. The worker there matched us to a dog she though would be a good fit for our lifestyle and home. We began to make plans to go down to Wallingford, CT and meet our potential adoptee...only one problem the kennel was about 3 hours away. We couldn't seem to ever find a time where they were open and we could get down there. So...back to the drawing board. We decided to begin looking in Massachusetts (we are only about 10 minutes from MA). We found a kennel called Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, MA. Amazingly enough, I worked at a residential home for kids with Autism right down the street. That drive was only about 40 minutes, and we decided to give it a shot. We called up and explained that we were interested in getting more information on adopting a greyhound and set up an appointment. July 2nd, we made the trip up to the kennel. We had no intentions of bringing a hound home with us, this was strictly to get more information and look at some dogs. We went through an adoption interview and were deemed worthy enough to have a hound! ...good news. Then we were escorted into the kennel area where we could look at the greys that were available. We walked the kennel, looking at all the greys and their ages. One boy, Chrome, seemed exceptionally happy to see us and had his nose poking out of his crate. We asked if we could take him out and take a short walk in the field with him. The kennel owner said that we could, but that he had extremely bad manners and was very difficult on a leash. We took him out anyway and found that he really only tugged a little bit. The only problem was that he was really, really big. So, we brought him back in and looked at the other hounds. We next asked to see a much smaller boy, whom the owner thought might be good for us. We agreed to leash test him and found that he was very calm. Upon re-entering the kennel, we found the kennel manager there instead of the owner. She was very nice and was quite knowledgeable about all of the hounds. She mentioned that this boy was showing signs of anxiety and actually had to be picked up and put back into his crate. John and I decided that a hound with anxiety was not yet for us, as we had not been dog owners previously. We continued roaming the kennel and I could not help but notice Chrome still at the front of his crate watching our every move. He was the only hound in the kennel that was doing this. Right then, I knew that he was meant to be ours. It was as though he was choosing us, rather than us choosing him. John and I stepped outside to discuss what we were going to do. We both agreed that there was something about Chrome that just seemed right for us. We were not deterred by the comments that he would be difficult and would need intense training. I work with extremely difficult children diagnosed with Autism and use positive practice and reinforcement (Applied Behavior Analysis) to teach them. If I could use reinforcement to work with my students, then I was confident that I could train this dog. So there we were, signing the papers and walking out of the kennel with a greyhound. Being that he was fawn and not blue, we couldn't seem to convincingly call him Chrome. We used his name several times but got no response, not even a glance. After that little test, we assumed that he did not really know his name and decided to change it. We settled on Romeo, and boy is it fitting! Just one look with those big brown eyes, and your heart melts! So now it is only a few months away from Romeo's first Gotcha Day and boy have we learned what life is like with a grey! We've seen him hoard our clothing, go crazy over squeeker toys, roach to get a belly rub, throw up on EVERY car ride, eat a whole roast chicken carcass from the trash (fortunately that did not result in a trip to the e-vet, only a good few days of endless pooping!), discover the joy of snow, take his first hike in the woods, lay in a lake on his side, see a family of deer, discover that we have a resident bunny, and so many other things. I feel truly grateful to have Romeo as part of our family and I look forward to all of the adventures that are yet to come! 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Guest Patti604 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Hello from Manitoba Canada! Your boy sounds like a great guy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Hi there! Welcome to GT! It was wonderful too meet the three of you in April at Petco. I remember Romeo at the kennel and always had a soft spot for him. But then again, I'm a sucker for the big, spunky boys He really is a love Edited May 4, 2009 by SoulsMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greymama002 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 from NH! Loved reading your story; Your Romeo sounds like a very special boy! We adopted 2 greys last summer so I truly understand how grateful you feel! Our goofy boys have brought us so much joy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ss556 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Welcome. What a handsome boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4greytful Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Those eyes would melt anyone's heart! Lovely and welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spencers_Greyt Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Hi and Welcome from Arizona! I loved your adoption story. I love hearing everyone's adoption stories. Romeo is extremely good looking and I LOVE his pic on the right side of your siggie of him looking up. Sooooo cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoogieDown Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fatesrelease Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Welcome from Maine! We are somewhat close to eachother. Hope to see more of you on the forum! What a handsome boy you have. Loved hearing the story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moofie Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Great adoption story, we also ended up picking the dog that on paper shouldn't have been a good match, sometimes you just have to trust your gut instinct. Romeo certainly is a hunk! Funny he reminds me of a fawn Hector in the left pic of siggy. Think we need more piccys! Jenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest houndstooth4 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Romeo is one handsome boy! He looks like he could be related to our Bunny, but she is one tiny little hound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerlinsMum Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Romeo is my Merlin's brother! :) Some of you may remember my posts over a year ago about finding one of his littermates, and then finding out that Romeo, aka "Chrome" was at Greyhound Friends! Vicki, I am so pleased he found a home with you and John. Now you need to post lots of pictures!! And Look what I found - a post from Praveen who went to the 2008 Open House at GF, shortly before you adopted Romeo! He was kind enough to post this: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...0&hl=chrome Welcome to GreyTalk!! :yay Quote Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer 2013-2023 Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Flysmom Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Welcome Romeo and his humans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romeosrents Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Kerry, thank you soooo much for that link!!! The first picture made me tear up a little! Thank you to everyone who has welcomed us to greytalk! I will get on putting up some pictures! Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greypuppyluv Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Hi and welcome! Romeo sure is a handsome guy!! You have very good taste in collars too. Quote Paula & her pups--Paneer (WW Outlook Ladd), Kira & Rhett (the whippets)Forever in my heart...Tinsel (Born's Bounder - 11/9/90-12/18/01), Piper, Chevy, Keno, Zuma, Little One, Phaelin & WinnieGreyhound Adoption Center ~ So Cal rep for Whippet Rescue And Placement For beautiful beaded collars, check out my Facebook page: The Swanky Hound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romeosrents Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 You have very good taste in collars too. Thank you It took me probably a good month to decide what collar I wanted for him, but I just couldn't help going back to the H4H collar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest charlyblair Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 What a greyt story! I LOVE that he chose you (what a smart boy!) welcome to GT Your boy is absolutley gorgeous BTW (as if you didn't already know that ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TBSFlame Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Your boy is very handsome. Welcome to GT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arlosmom Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 OH!!Romeo it is Jewel here and dat is such a lubbly story how you came to be wif yur mom and dad. You are so hansome! Tell yur mom tank you fur sharing your story. lubs Jewel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greytpups Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 What an awesome story...he is very handsome. Quote Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field. Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona3 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Kerry, Here are two pictures of Chrome for you. Praveen. What a gorgeous boy - Romeo is the perfect name for him! Welcome to GreyTalk! Quote Hobbes - April 2, 1994 to April 9, 2008-----Tasha - May 23, 2000 to March 31, 2013 Fiona - Aug 29, 2001 to May 5, 2014-----Bailey - March 22, 2001 to Jan 20, 2015 Zeke - June 1, 2004 - Jan 26, 2016----Callie - July 14, 2006 to July 27, 2019 Forever in my heart: Chooch, Molly, Dylan & Lucy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Romeo is gorgeous!!! Welcome from NYC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romeosrents Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Thank you again for all the welcomes and compliments for my handsome boy! Jewel, ah habs knot heard frum you in a wile! Ah am glad you r still thinking ov me!! Lubs, your Romeo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerlinsMum Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Jewel, ah habs knot heard frum you in a wile! Ah am glad you r still thinking ov me!! Lubs, your Romeo! You have just 33 posts, and Romeo has a girlfriend already????? Quote Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer 2013-2023 Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackiekbowen Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Hello from Michigan. Greys are magnificent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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